My gendered story as a Female/Woman - Essay Example

?Introduction Sex of a human being plays an essential role at every stage of his life. Gender of a person shapes most of the personal, professional, social and family aspects of his life. Moreover, the environment in which a person grows also contributes towards development of beliefs and outlook related to gender. My life story is not different. My environment and the family background have played a major role in making me a feminine person that I am today. I am a twenty year old female studying in college. I used to think that I am quite an ambitious person by nature. However, when I saw the determination and drive of some of my male friends, I realized that I lack the same amount of drive to achieve my ambition. I am quite flexible by nature and have adaptability in my behavior. Moreover, my choices and emotions are very feminine. I am affectionate and caring by nature and like to look ‘girly’. I do enjoy doing ‘girly things’ like being in clique, gossiping, wearing make up and aiming for shapely body. I even go through phases where I feel that my world will end if I go to a party with bad hair or inappropriate dress. Many of my decisions are based upon the gender influence on me. For example, when we have guests for dinner, my brothers go out to play very casually. However, I stay back to help my mother. If someone is sick at home, I display caring behavior and worry about that person. This behavior of mine has made me realize that I am a very ‘feminine’ girl. However, I also realize that what has made me a ‘feminine’ person is not just my gender but also the environment in which I was bought up. Gender and Society Gender can be defined as “the cultural expectations and societal arrangements by which men and women have different experiences in society” (Andersen 2). It was believed that with advancement in society and modernization of the world, perception about women will change and they will get equal treatment in the society. However, even today, there are many countries in the world where women get inferior treatment and their qualities are ignored. Different researches in the field of science have proved that there is great disparity and inconsistency in what people believe and what they actually end up doing (Mack et al. 13). Most often, people’s behavior is contradictory to their beliefs (Mack et al. 13). People in Western culture think that women and men are opposite and separate (Andersen 28) and hence, cannot be treated equally. Even in a developed country like the U.S., women are yet to get equal opportunities as men in different areas of life. Hence, this contradiction in beliefs and behavior is also evident in people’s perception of gender and the roles associated with genders. Gender Role A set of different expectations associated with boys and girls form the basis for social construction of gender (Andersen 21). The behavior pattern and role expectations associated with gender are not just created by family but are also created and practiced through social institutions of religion, economy, marriage, university, media, health care etc (Andersen 31). The widely shared expectations and perceptions about the roles the males and females should play in different institutions of the society are known as ‘gender roles’ (Brym and Lie 74). Feminist sociologist believe that the gender roles are not ingrained in human nature as people are not born with knowledge of gender roles (Brym and Lie 74). People learn the gender roles from their environment and social institutions. Mass media is one of the major sources of sowing the seeds of gender roles in people’s mind (Brym and Lie 74). For example, to sell the beauty products, advertisements promote a wrong idea that women are accepted and appreciated by others only if they are young, beautiful and perfect in shape (Andersen 54). According to feminist sociologist Joan Acker, gender roles are so prevalent and dominant in the psyche of human beings that all the institutions in the society are formed according to the gender role expectations from people in the society (Andersen 32). In my case, I have experienced the gender role in the institution of family. I was expected to learn things that are related to female gender, like cooking and cleaning, while my brothers were not expected to learn those things. Even in case of my studies, my family was not that keen on me getting high grades or performing well. However, my brothers were expected to do well and prove themselves through their educational performance. This shows that every institution in the society is ‘gendered,’ as people participating in the institutions are expected to behave and act according to the stereotypical expectations associated with their gender (Andersen 32). West and Fenstermaker (1995) stated that gender is not an inborn trait but is formed, recreated and reinforced through everyday ‘gender typical’ social interactions and behavior (Andersen 46). This point of view is known as ‘doing gender’ (Andersen 46). Hence, gender roles are ingrained in social structure to the core and it impacts every human being. Impact of Gender Gender has shaped almost every aspect of my personality. The factors responsible for my gender role and beliefs, are my family and my upbringing. I have four elder brothers and one younger brother. My father and mother have two children, me and my younger brother, together. However, there is no discrimination in my parent’s behavior as they treat all the children equally. Being the only girl child in the family, my mother was extra careful in maintaining and inculcating feminine qualities in me. My mother has come from the family where she was the only girl child and hence, knew very well how difficult it is for a girl to maintain her femininity while growing up in ‘all male’ family. Hence, she always encouraged the feminine qualities in me through different means. Firstly, pink color was used generously in all my dresses, accessories and toys. My mother used to make me wear ‘Easter like’ dresses, which were full of frills and laces, almost every day. Surprisingly, even my father supported my mother’s upbringing pattern whole heartedly. He always treated me like a ‘little princess’. He never really wanted me to work or become a career oriented person. He wanted me to just complete my basic education, while concentrating more on learning female oriented skills like cooking, cleaning, stitching, embroidery etc. However, fortunately, in spite of wanting me to grow up like a girl and become a home maker, my parents never dissuaded me from doing something that I liked doing. This was because my mother also believed that apart from having all the feminine qualities and skills, women should have some ‘masculine’ qualities like strength, determination and will power. She believed that in face of crisis, woman should be able to fight and stand for herself without losing her ‘feminine’ self. Hence, I was encouraged to learn to ride, participate in competitive sports and also pursue my education. In this way, my parents have contributed a lot in developing me into a feminine but a strong and independent girl. Conclusion From the discussion above, it is clear that gender role is structured in social perception. If people want to change misconceptions and inferior treatment of females, then there is an immediate need to change the stereotypical gender perception and biases practiced in the society. Only a bias free structure of gender can make a society healthy on all levels. Works Cited Andersen , Margaret. Thinking About Women: Sociological Perspectives on Sex and Gender. 8th ed. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 2009. Print. Brym, Robert and John Lie. Sociology: Your Compass for a New World. 2nd ed. Belmont: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2010. Print. Mack et al., "Module Two: Participant Observation,” Qualitative Research Methods: A Data Collector's Field Guide, Family Health International, 2005. Web. 27 Sep. 2011. Read More